Throwing the Book at Him
by CeliaEquus
Summary: Sarah gave Jareth something precious before she left. Yet another "Labyrinth" one-shot. Usual disclaimers.


"Throwing the Book at Him"

The Goblin King would have to have the junk lady executed for this; or, even worse, tip her into the Bog of Eternal Stench. She shouldn't have pressed his Sarah so much when it came to all her possessions; or, at least, the junkyard equivalents. Then she wouldn't have found that book. What's worse, she took it with her.

What's worse, she threw it at him.

Literally threw the book at him. And here, all along, he'd thought it was some innocuous Aboveground expression.

He held the little red book in his hands. She had recited the last words, consulting the book when she forgot her last line.

_You have no power over me_.

Jareth growled, and threw the book across the room. One of the goblins, thinking that his king was playing a game of fetch, grabbed it off the floor, and ran to the throne. He gave it to the scowling monarch, and neatly avoided a kick that would have sent him out through a window and into the castle grounds.

Clearly it wasn't a game of fetch.

"You have no power over me," she had said, reading the last line triumphantly. Crushed beyond belief, he had thrust the crystal into the air. Refusing to look at her anymore, he prepared to transform into an owl.

Then that red, rectangular object hit him in the chest, distracting him. He picked it up, and looked up as the clock chimed. Sarah wasn't looking at him, but rather at the timepiece. He picked up the book, made it disappear to his castle, and changed into his bird form. Once Sarah was safely back home, had checked on her brother, and started partying with her friends, he returned to the goblin kingdom. He had been there ever since, brooding and reading.

"'But what no one knew was that the king of the goblins had fallen in love with the girl'," he quoted. "With a mortal? Heavens forbid," he muttered derisively. He ran a hand through his messy, blonde hair, sighing as he did so. "Books. _Mortals_."

However, the book was frighteningly accurate in that respect. Fall in love he did; long before they met. Her love of magic attracted him to the Aboveground in the first place. In her world, people didn't believe the way they used to. His kingdom had been relying on people's belief in magic, their dreams and their wishes, ever since his parents had both moved on into the Next Life. If Jareth wanted to sustain his kingdom, he had to marry, and then procreate. Assuming that people ceased to believe in magic, that is. Sarah had certainly managed to believe enough for… for a hundred ordinary people.

But he didn't want to rely on her! Not for that!

"I just want her," he muttered, flicking through the pages carelessly. "All for myself." And it said nothing in the book about the girl loving the king back! Which meant, of course, that she didn't.

Late into the night Jareth read the book. It took a long time to get through it, mainly because he kept grumbling at inaccuracies, however small.

"This isn't right!" he shouted, throwing the book to the floor again. This time, it was just at his feet, so no one would dare return it to him. "If…" He smiled slowly, thinking. "If this doesn't stick to the _real_ story… then maybe… maybe she _does_ love me!" He grinned. He would wait a few years, until she was of an appropriate age, and had a bit more life experience, before making her his queen. Queen Sarah. A nice name for a goblin queen, wasn't it?

"How would you all like a queen one day?" he asked his subjects. A great cheer went up at that, and the king's smile widened. Well, at least he had some approval. He was sure his parents would have loved Sarah just as much as he did.

"Just a few more years, Sarah," he murmured, summoning a crystal. He studied it, watching her as the party wound up, and those treasonous friends of hers returned to the Underground. Well, he could hardly punish them. That wouldn't endear his love to him.

This required some careful planning.

* * *

Sarah didn't need to do too much tidying up after her friends had left her room by way of the mirror. She wasn't sure whether she could get back to the Underground through it herself, and decided to wait a while before even attempting anything like that. For all she knew, he really did hate her. He had seemed… regretful after she said the words to defeat him. That was why she had given him the book. He just _had_ to see her reasons. He had to understand.

Why, she didn't know. But… but he had to read the book. He had looked so hurt.

One of the Fireys had brought her a flower from the forest; a _real_ He-Loves-Me-He-Loves-Me-Not flower.

"If he loves me," she said, reclining on her bed, "then he won't arrest my friends for betraying their king. If he _doesn't_ love me…" She paused. What kind of ruler would he be if he didn't call them to task for treason? "Which is the lesser of two evils?" she asked out loud. "Well, if he _does_ love me, then surely I can plead on their behalf if he puts them on trial?" She began to pull off petal after petal, saying the rhyme as she went.

It ended on 'He Loves Me Not'.

"Oh," she said, her heart disappointed. She sighed.

"It ends with the flower's heart," the Firey had said. Frowning with hope, Sarah looked at the middle of the flower. Slowly, it formed into a heart shape.

She smiled.

"He loves me," she whispered, touching the centre.

Lights began to flash where she pressed, and the flower turned into a crystal. She looked into it, and saw a grinning goblin king looking back at her. She pulled away, but was drawn back by his voice.

"That flower actually tells you of _your_ feelings towards the person, not of their feelings for you, my precious Sarah," he said, and she blushed. Judging by the triumphant smirk on his face, he was telling the truth. "Sarah?"

"Y-yes?" she asked.

"You know the truth of my feelings from your little red book," he said. He revelled in the way her eyes lit up at his admission. "I will see you again in a few years' time, my beauty." Her face reddened further. "Oh, and your friends are safe with me."

He gave her a pointy-toothed smile, and disappeared along with the crystal.

**

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**

Don't quite know why I wrote this. I just got inspired by watching the movie. Almost at the end now, in fact. Both of the story, and of the film. Really, I have started my first chaptered _**Labyrinth**_** story. First chapter has been written, and I'm partway through chapter two. I want to have more than that written, and another of my Harry Potter stories, finished before I commence posting. In the meantime, enjoy these one-shots.**

**Read and review, please!**


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